Smoke Plumes from California Fires Visible from Space (Photo)

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Smoke from wildfires raging in Southern California can be seen
from space.

In this satellite
image, captured by NASA's Earth-watching Aqua spacecraft on
Wednesday (May 14), sandy-colored plumes stretch out over
the Pacific Ocean from San Diego County, where firefighters are
battling intense blazes.

The fire started Wednesday just north of San Diego, fueled by dry
conditions, gusty winds and temperatures over 100 degrees
Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius).

The blaze split into several separate fires that have burned
nearly 16 square miles (41 square kilometers), CNN
reported. Firefighters were attempting to control three dozen
fires overnight, but as of this morning (May 15), they were
facing eight, according to CNN.

The fires have prompted road closures and evacuation orders for
thousands of residents in the region, while damage to power lines
caused widespread outages. Evacuation orders were in effect in
locations ranging from residential neighborhoods to the Marine
Corps' base at Camp Pendleton to the amusement park Legoland,
where all rides had to be evacuated Wednesday before the park
reopened today.

Much of the firefighting efforts are focused on an
1.3-square-mile (3.2 square kilometers) fire in the city of San
Marcos, where at least three homes have been destroyed, city
officials said. At least 380 fire personnel and 84 engines were
responding to the fire. California Gov. Jerry Brown declared
a state of emergency and authorized the deployment of 12 aircraft
to help combat the blazes. California State University San
Marcos will also remain closed for the rest of the week,
campus officials said.

The extreme weather even spawned a phenomenon known as a
fire
tornado, as
video footage sent in to local news stations shows. (The
skinny flame-filled whirlwind is actually more similar to a
dust devil than a tornado.)